The Parc naturel régional d'Armorique (Breton: Park an Arvorig), or
Armorica Regional Nature Park, is a rural area
located in Brittany. The
park land reaches from the Atlantic Ocean to hilly inland
countryside. There are sandy beaches, swamps, strange rocks, fast rivers and the hills
of Monts d'Arrée, all blended into one landscape. The park also
includes three islands: Île de Sein, Molène and Ushant.[1]

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Monts
d'Arrée

The Monts
d'Arrée hills are one of the oldest geological formations in
Europe. They were created as mountains 600 million years ago, thus
they are older than the Alps.

Monts d'Arrée is an area where Celtic mythology and Christian
traditions coexist peacefully. A local legend explains why the
Monts d'Arrée are so bare: when Christ was born, God asked the
trees from Monts d'Arrée to cross the sea in order to greet the
newborn child. All trees except for the humble pine, gorse and
heather refused to do
this, and so they were wrenched from the ground as divine
punishment.[1]

Although the highest hill, Tuchen Gador, is only 384 meters
high, it is easy to get lost. Low fog is frequent between the hills
and above the swamps. The Monts are very irregular. The sharp rocks
of Tuchen Gador create a striking contrast to the rounded hills of
the Mont Saint Michel de Brasparts.[2]
Hiking on the Monts can be treacherous because of the ever-changing
weather and the uneven and marshy ground.

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Mont
Saint-Michel de Brasparts and the Chapel of
Saint-Michel

View of chapel of Saint-Michel at Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts,
in the Monts
d'Arrée, in Parc naturel régional d'Armorique

Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts, (Menez-Mikael in Breton) is the most famous
hill in the range. The Mont is 380 meters high and is the second
highest in the chain of Monts d'Arrée. The Mont was once claimed
to be 391 meters high, but this is only true if the height of the
Chapel of Saint-Michel is included.

One source claims that the top of the Chapel of Saint-Michel is
the highest point in Brittany[3]
however this is adding the height of the building to the height of
the Mont, and is not taking into consideration another hill in
Brittany which is 383 m high and has a 220 m antenna on top, the
Émetteur de Roc'h Trédudon. [1]

The summit of Saint-Michel de Brasparts offers fine views of the
bogs of Elez Yeun, and on to Lake Brennilis. When the weather
permits, which is rare, one can see the Pont de l'Iroise, and the
Bay of Morlaix.

The Chapel of Saint-Michel was built in 1672. It is dedicated to
Archangel Michael. It was
vandalized in 1935, when the statue of the Archangel was removed from the chapel. Now
the building is empty.[4]

Elez Yeun

View over Monts d'Arrée in Brittany from Mont Saint-Michel de
Brasparts. While it is sunny at the Mont, it is foggy at Elez
Yeun

Elez Yeun is a marshy hollow, visible from the summit of Mont
Saint-Michel de Brasparts. Ancient tradition claims that it is one
of the gates of hell. The word "ellez" is found in few other names
around the region, and comes from the same Indo-European root as
the world "hell" in English.[5]

Legends

Elez Yeun is surrounded by many legends and superstitions.

It is said that hapless mortals peering into Elez Yeun risked
being seized, and dragged down by unseen forces below. Malevolent
fiends, often taking the form of a great black dog, are heard
baying at night.[6] Another
sound heard floating on the night wind comes from the mad revels of
lost souls. In Christian folklore, the Youdic (Elez Yeun) was
thought to be a place to confine the possessed, but Saint Michael
has the power to save souls from falling into it.

One legend describes what happened to a priest and a sexton by the name of Job, when they tried
to cross Elez Yeun:[7
]

A vast desolation surrounded them. So dark was the night that it
seemed to envelop them like a velvet curtain. Beneath their feet
they heard the hissing and moaning of the bog, awaiting its prey
like a restless and voracious wild beast. Through the dense
blackness they could see the iridescent waters writhing and
gleaming below. "Surely," said Job half to himself, "this must be
the gateway to hell!" At that word the dog uttered a frightful
howl-such a howl as froze Job's blood in his veins. It tugged and
strained at the cord which held it with the strength of a demon,
striving to turn on Job and rend him. "Hold on!" cried the priest
in mortal terror, keeping at a safe distance, however. "Hold on, I
entreat you, or else we are undone!" Job held on to the demon-dog
with all his strength. Indeed, it was necessary to exert every thew
and sinew if the animal were to be prevented from tearing him to
pieces. Its howls were sufficient to strike terror to the stoutest
heart. "Iou! Iou!" it yelled again and again. But Job held on
desperately, although the cord cut his hands and blood ran from the
scarified palms. Inch by inch he dragged the brute toward the
Youdic. The creature in a last desperate effort turned and was
about to spring on him open-mouthed, when all at once the priest,
darting forward, threw his cloak over its head. It uttered a shriek
which sounded through the night like the cry of a lost soul.
"Quick!" cried the priest. "Lie flat on the earth and put your face
on the ground!" Scarcely had the two men done so than a frightful
tumult ensued. First there was the sound of a body leaping into the
morass, then such an uproar as could only proceed from the mouth of
the infernal regions. Shrieks, cries, hissings, explosions followed
in quick succession for upward of half an hour; then gradually they
died away and a horrible stillness took their place. The two men
rose trembling and unnerved, and slowly took their way through the
darkness, groping and stumbling until they had left the awful
vicinity of the Yeun behind them.

– Lewis Spence, Legends and
Romances of Brittany

The unusual chapel of Saint-Michel is considered to be the home
of the Archangel Michael who acts as the
protector of lost souls wandering in the marshland below his
hill.[8]

St Michael and the Devil had a long history of fighting and
competitions. One of the stories says that the Devil was angry when
Mont St. Michel and the chapel were built, probably because he knew
that Archangel Michael would be
protecting the lost from entering the gates of hell at Elez Yeun.
The Devil told St Michael that Mont St. Michel was his, the
Devil's, to reside in. Not surprisingly, St. Michael had a
different opinion. To decide which one of them was going to keep
the Mont, the Devil and St. Michael both agreed to a jumping
competition. The Devil jumped and fell into a river, whereas St.
Michael's wings carried him much farther away. In this way, St.
Michael won the Mont for himself, except for the fact that the
Devil still lives somewhere below the Mont.[9]

Huelgoat

In Huelgoat, unusual
rock formations, fast and clear rivers, the lake, and the dark
woods create a fairy
tale atmosphere. It is said that King Arthur walked there, and even hid his
treasures in the La Grotte d'Artus, or Arthur's Cave.[2]